Chapter 1020

Grey memory descends on Fang Yuan, in Ying Wu Xie’s body, without harm. Neither he nor Mo Yao’s remnant soul recognizes it at first. Meanwhile Tai Bai Yun Sheng carries Fang Yuan’s body away, Hei Lou Lan close behind. Ying Wu Xie, still trapped in the dream realm, plans to wake, return, and expose Fang Yuan. But Tai Bai Yun Sheng and Hei Lou Lan are pulled into fighting Southern Border Gu Immortals and drift farther from Yi Tian Mountain. ^{ch. 1020}

Still immobilized by earth collapse, Bo Qing and Fang Yuan watch grey fog show Mo Yao’s memories of being ostracized as a variant human. Bo Qing asks why Fang Yuan seems unaffected, and neither has an answer. Privately Fang Yuan suspects heaven’s will spared him, as it spared the two who carried his body away. Bo Qing assumes it is only because Fang Yuan, newly born with eighteen hours left to live, has no such memories yet. Grey memory, it turns out, lets Fang Yuan off without exposing him, even as it plays freely through Spectral Soul and Mo Yao. ^{ch. 1020}

Fang Yuan learns Spectral Soul obtained a beastman Gu Immortal’s food path true inheritance. Grand clear space, the third myriad tribulation, then strikes Spectral Soul with countless green birds. ^{ch. 1020}

Other glimpses follow: Sacred Feather City’s location, and Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable’s name, Ben Jie Sun, an otherworldly demon not from Earth. The Legends of Ren Zu turns out to be Ren Zu’s true inheritance. In his previous life, he learns, the Great Strength True Martial immortal zombie’s death wrecked the ten extreme formation before it could finish, so Spectral Soul used him to try again. ^{ch. 1020}

Spectral Soul’s soul devouring method once failed against a sleeping, golden-radiance soul. Seven of his ten split souls have already returned to the living world. Bo Qing is one of them, named Azure, while Purple is Tai Bai Yun Sheng’s own master, Purple Mountain True Monarch. That golden-radiance soul, he guesses, might be Verdant Great Sun, born from Ren Zu’s right eye in legend. He also learns the origin of wisdom sword Immortal Gu and the truth between Bo Qing and Mo Yao. Da Li, Shadow Sect’s wisdom path Gu Immortal, is revealed as the rank eight Great Strength True Martial immortal zombie once suppressed. ^{ch. 1020}

Dark oil poison follows grand clear space. Fang Yuan understands Shadow Sect has long known his Spring Autumn Cicada secret, shielding him since Eighty-Eight True Yang Building’s collapse. He judges Spectral Soul may be history’s strongest venerable. Spectral Soul’s food path true inheritance built a soul devouring method that stole others’ memories, so he could not raise his attainment directly that way. But his other paths, formation and wisdom included, are definitely at least great grandmaster. ^{ch. 1020}

Grey memory and dark oil poison fade. Vine dragon returns as Heaven Overseeing Tower turns it against the ten extreme formation. Heaven Overseeing Tower breaks apart, Heavenly Court fails, and Heaven Overseeing Tower Lord is sacrificed. ^{ch. 1020}

Reduced to a handful of meters and weak, Spectral Soul faces Mo Yao’s remnant soul as it rises to question him. Spectral Soul taunts Bo Qing: Bo Qing’s own sword path Immortal Gu carry Spectral Soul’s will. Fang Yuan has spent this whole time studying lead soul into dream, helped by Ying Wu Xie’s sorted Gu worms. He knows he has only one chance against Spectral Soul’s main body. ^{ch. 1020}

Spectral Soul devours Mo Yao’s remnant soul. He tells Ying Wu Xie to guard him for a little over ten more breaths. Fang Yuan, calm, agrees and stands watch, while Heavenly Court’s Gu Immortals retreat, admitting they have no chances left. Spectral Soul declares triumph over his finished rank nine sovereign immortal fetus Gu, promising it will let him surpass every venerable in history, take an otherworldly demon’s body, and outmatch even a resurrected Ren Zu. Fang Yuan wonders what use the Gu has, and whether a realm nobody has reached is immortality. ^{ch. 1020}

Spectral Soul says he can afford no carelessness near the end, and investigates. In the end he only destroys the investigative Gu worms Heavenly Court left behind. This confirms the song’s final meaning: ghostly concealment blocks detection by ghosts and souls, which is how Thieving Heaven once took Luo Po Valley and Dang Hun Mountain and crossed the Obsession Death Domain unseen. Because of this, Spectral Soul never suspects Ying Wu Xie, unable to doubt his own split soul. ^{ch. 1020}

Spectral Soul floats toward the sovereign immortal fetus Gu. Fang Yuan, calm at the crucial moment, weighs the song’s instruction to destroy the Gu, fragile enough to crush in a squeeze, against the unknown risk of Spectral Soul, however weak. Fang Yuan strikes directly at Spectral Soul instead, snatching the Gu with an incomplete, inferior lead soul into dream. Spectral Soul is already weak to his limit, and it succeeds in one attempt. Leaving Ying Wu Xie’s body, Fang Yuan’s soul floats toward the Gu in turn, finally free of Star Constellation Immortal Venerable’s hold, taking for himself the fruit of Spectral Soul’s countless years of labor. ^{ch. 1020}